Joyce Meyers Practices What She Preaches

After 37 years of covering most of the world’s major ministries, I believe Joyce Meyer’s is one of the best.

We were honored to have Joyce as the guest editor for Ministry Today’s September/October issue. When I became aware of her enormous outreach, I asked if she’d be willing to tell how her family and ministry have made such a huge impact through their missions efforts, both domestically and overseas, as well as their commitment to a lifestyle of radical generosity.

I wondered if she’d say yes. After all, she has one of the largest ministries in America. With her ongoing teaching and travel schedule, along with leading a global ministry, she’s obviously in high demand. In addition, she has the ability to get out her message through her own media.

But as we talked about it, I believe she understood my heart for wanting our readers to be inspired by what she has done. I know that when it comes to missions, one of the best ways to inspire others is for them to see it modeled.

In a way, that is what happened when Dave and Joyce Meyer opened the Dream Center in St. Louis. They modeled what they did by taking note of what Matthew Barnett has done in Los Angeles. In turn, he was inspired by his own father, Tommy Barnett, whose ministry outreaches are legendary in Pentecostal circles. I recently learned that the Dream Center picked up a few ideas from Bishop Bart Pierce of Baltimore, who gave them the idea of adopting specific blocks within a city.

Not long ago I was talking by phone to a businessman who I knew didn’t always pay his bills, even though he was a high roller. Despite claiming to be a Spirit-filled Christian, he obviously didn’t have the highest level of integrity. In our conversation, this man began criticizing ministries he didn’t like and mentioned something he read in an article about Joyce Meyer and her ministry.

I stopped him. I had visited Joyce Meyer Ministries and knew firsthand that it is one of the most generous ministries I’ve ever known. In more than 37 years of covering the Christian community, I have known and seen most of the major ministries—many of them up close and personal. From my vantage point, Joyce Meyer and her ministry are among the best.

They walk in integrity. I know that not only as a journalist who has covered them over the years, but also as a publisher who published one of her books. When you work with someone in the book business, you quickly find out if he or she is the real deal. And I can say that Joyce Meyer and her ministry are!

Yet another example of this is how hard they worked on this issue. It didn’t benefit them nearly as much as I’m sure it will benefit you.

And I’ve benefited too. As I read over the final articles before they went to press, I was stirred in my own spirit. I have long had a heart for the poor, but this issue of Ministry Today motivated me to do more, especially in my local community, which is still reeling in the aftermath of the killing of Trayvon Martin. That tragedy happened only 2.3 miles from my office, a fact you would know if you read our recent coverage in Charisma of the racial reconciliation efforts in Sanford, Fla.

We recently had a meeting of churches and pastors to see what we can do to show the love of Jesus by helping the poor and helping to ease some of the tension in our city. In that way, we overcome evil with good! I liked some of the articles in this issue so much I copied them and handed them out because I knew it would inspire those who work regularly with the poor to do even more.

Sadly, too many churches and pastors are focused more on their own congregations and their own finances than the actual needs around them in their community. They never seem to have enough to help others. Or if things go well, then they begin to consume more of the Lord’s blessings rather than using those to help others.

God is not honored by that. He is honored when we give to the poor.

May you be inspired by these articles just as I was. We’d love to hear how they impacted you, so send us your stories of how you’ve been inspired.
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